


Misunderstood

by AdrenalineRevolver



Category: Newsies - All Media Types
Genre: Assumptions, Chaotic Horse Girl Energy, Getting Together, Jack Is A Dad And He Tries, M/M, Mistaken for Being in a Relationship, Soft Spot Conlon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-31 19:49:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17855870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdrenalineRevolver/pseuds/AdrenalineRevolver
Summary: Racetrack has been sneaking in at odd hours so obviously he's seeing someone. Right?





	Misunderstood

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Newsies, I come bearing memes.
> 
> I'm sorry if anyone is out of character or the typed accent is weird. As you can tell these aren't my usual sons.

A light fog enveloped the island as Racetrack slipped into the lodging house at nearly one in the morning. He thought no one noticed him until the lights came on. Jack and Crutchie had been waiting in the dark to pounce. 

“So where ya commin' back from?” Jack was leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets. 

“Jack, we know he’s coming from Brooklyn, Romeo saw him cross the bridge.” Crutchie cocked his head to one side and leaned back on the table he had decided to sit on.

“It’s rhetorical alright?” He sighed. “Just wanted to see wanted to see what he’d say for himself.”

“Hey, I’m my own man.” Racetrack tried to slip past them. “It’s fine.”

“I wouldn’t, the guys are all still awake.” Jack grinned. “They’re waitin on you.”

“We just wanted to make sure everythings alright.” Crutchie seemed like he was willing to let it go, for now at least. 

“I’m fine.” He tried to head to bed anyway. He could wave off the guys easily. 

“So why you limpin'?” Jack suddenly wasn’t playing anymore.

Racetrack flinched and could feel his shoulders tense. “Guess I’m just sore from runnin' around sellin' all day. You know how it is. Sometimes ya jump down funny.”

“Really sure it doesn’t have anything to due with that giant bruise on your shoulder?” Jack folded his arms. 

“What bruise?” Crutchie asked; he was used to seeing others banged up so it must be bad for Jack to bring it up.

“Jack you ass.” Racetrack practically hissed. 

“What bruise?” Crutchie insisted and stood up.

“The one Race insists he got when slipped on the bridge. Go on, show him.” Jack came forward and waved his hand.

“It ain’t that bad.” He wanted to sock Jack in the jaw. “It was just rainy you know? Tripped.”

“Show him then.” Jack slung an arm around Race’s arms so he couldn’t slip away. 

He sighed and pulled his shirt to the side revealing a hideously dark bruise across his left shoulder. It was mottled and yellowed. Obviously it had been there for a while and no doubt it had been painful the entire time. “Happy?”

“Race!” Crutchie’s jaw dropped, it looked like someone had taken a bat to him. He could really only make one guess as to why Racetrack hadn’t said a thing. “Did…did he do this?” 

Racetrack quickly buttoned his shirt back up. “It aint like he meant to.” He didn’t seem phased at all. He even laughed. “Honestly, I kinda deserved it.”

Jack turned on his heel and headed towards the door. Crutchie honestly wasn’t sure if he should stop him. He certainly didn’t want to.

“Hey? Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Racetrack hurried behind Jack and Cructchie knew that was his cue to follow. 

“Brooklyn.” Jack answered through clenched teeth. 

“What? Why?” Racetrack seemed genuinely confused as he chased Jack out into the night. 

“Just to check some things out.” A bald faced lie, but one Crutchie could understand. ‘I’m going to beat your guy to death for mistreating you.’ Probably wouldn’t go over all that great. 

“You don’t understand! He didn’t mean no harm!” Racetrack began to babble as he whipped himself into a panic. “I can prove it! Sheepshead. We’ll go to Sheepshead and I’ll show you.”

“You probably shouldn’t-“ Jack sighed as Racetrack talked over the top of him. 

“He loves me.” Racetrack insisted suddenly. “Hasn’t said it with words, of course, but I know it.” 

Crutchie’s heart threatened to break for him. Kid really thought this was love? “Showing us is a good idea. Lead the way.” 

Jack shot him a look that Crutchie pretended not to notice. They could talk about that one later. 

Racetrack talked most of the way, all positives of course. How great he was, how strong he was, how sweet, how smart. It was beginning to drive Jack up the wall. Crutchie just pretended to be listening as he focused on anything else. 

Slipping into Sheepshead was something Racetrack did with practiced ease. “I’ve got a spare key.” He winked and led the other two down into the stables. 

“Down in here?” Jack raised an eyebrow. 

“Well were else?” Racetrack laughed and waltzed right in.

When they got to the end of the line there seemed to be a horse still in one of the stables. Resting on his hooves it didn’t quite notice them yet. When Racetrack made this little kissing noise the horse sprang to life and huffed as it came over to the railing. It stuck his nose in Racetrack’s hair the moment it got the chance. 

“You see? He’s a doll.” As he spoke the horse continued to nuzzle at him, even at his shoulder. “Ah, I know your sorry buddy. Ya just freaked out that’s all. I got too excited when his owner gave him up to me and tried to move too fast for him. Horses don’t exactly know how to tell ya when ya scare em so he just took a chunk out of me.” He laughed. “Hurt like hell. No wonder everyone else is scared of ya.” Racetrack patted the horse on the neck. “Never properly got broken in cause they thought it would make him faster if he was still wild and afraid. After he just about killed everyone that got too close they were gonna shoot him so I took him. He’s gonna prove every last one of em wrong.”

From the corner of his eye Crutchie could see that Jack’s shoulders were shaking. Fighting back laughter Jack had to lean against one of the stable doors. 

“What’s so funny?” Racetrack stroked the horse’s nose. 

“I…” Crutchie shrugged and held up his hands. “Listen, I wanted to ask you about this a while ago rather than assume anything.” 

“Race, you dipshit, we thought someone was beating you.” Jack managed between breaths. 

“What?” Racetrack looked shocked. It was only made worse when the stable doors swung open to reveal the other newsies. They must have decided to follow the trio from a distance.

“Wait does this mean Racetrack is dating the horse?” “Is Spot the horse?” “I thought Spot was a guy? I mean I might be wrong but-“ “Racetrack would date a horse.” “More than Romeo gets.” A chorus of confused chatter revealed that they had been followed into the stables by the other newsies. 

At this point Jack could barely breathe. “Crutchie, tell those assholes to go home.” 

“Go home you assholes!” Crutchie called over his shoulder. 

“Rude.” “Just wanted to make sure you won.” “I can’t believe Spot Conlon is a horse.” “I know right? Always the ones you least expect.” “If centaurs were real they’d probably be from Brooklyn anyway.” “Hey they might be soon enough.” “Well there’s tomorrow’s headline.” The cluster of boys slowly made it’s way out of the stables with Crutchie close behind shooing them. 

“Jack what the fuck is all this about?” Racetrack leaned into the horse like it would back him up. 

Jack took a deep breath. “Well I mean, you were commin home from Brooklyn. Late as can be.”

“Yeah?” He shook his head.

“Sometimes limpin'.” He shrugged. “You know?”

“Yeah?” Race could feel his face heat up.

“And then you were all bruised up and wouldn’t say why. It didn’t take a genius to figure out you were hiding someone. Just figured they’d be a bit more…human.”  


“Well I gotta hide him, he doesn’t really trust most people and-“ Racetrack paused. “Did you march all the way out here to beat the shit out of Spot fucking Conlon?”

“What’s fair is fair. Thought he was doin' the same to you.” He strolled over and held his hand out to the horse who seemed unimpressed. 

Racetrack scoffed. “He’d break every bone in your body Jack.”

“Yeah but it was worth a shot.” Jack put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. 

“Breaking every bone in Jack’s body doesn’t sound all that bad. Why in the hell is his entire crew on my turf in the middle of the fucking night?” The king of Brooklyn himself stood behind the two of them.

Jack nearly jumped out of his skin but quickly managed to recover. “We were-“

“Didn’t ask you.” Spot interrupted him.

Racetrack threw his head back and laughed. “They thought Bad Break’s Lucky Break was some creep soakin me without them knowing.” 

“Well they’re not wrong. Damn thing is hateful, spiteful, and dumb.” Spot glared at the horse who just seemed to return the vitriol. For a horse it was pretty obvious that the thing despised him.

“He hates you. Probably because you’re too much like him. Makes him uncomfortable.” Racetrack stuck his tongue out.

“Yeah well, as long as you’re out of here by morning I won’t have to crack skulls.” Spot and the horse broke eye contact at nearly the same time. Jack had to wonder if they’d physically fight if given the chance. 

“They’ll be gone in a minute. I’ll be spending some time with Bad since I’m down here again.” He hopped over the railing to brush the wrest of the ‘hateful’ animal. “He doesn’t get enough attention anyway.”

“Good enough.” Spot leaned against the stable wall and watched as Racetrack continued to brush the horse’s coat. 

Jack stared between the two for a moment. Spot’s expression actually seemed to soften as he watched Race get wrapped up in looking after the thing. It kind of reminded him of the way Crutchie would watch him paint. “Now the sentiment still stands.“

“See ya, Jack.” Racetrack didn’t even look up. 

“Go home Kelly.” If looks could kill Spot would have murdered Jack where he stood. 

“Just keep that in mind.” Jack tried to seem casual as he made his way to the door. 

Crutchie was waiting for him. “Is Racetrack coming?”

“He’ll be along later.” He raised an eyebrow when he heard Crutchie trying not to laugh. “What?”

“You almost started a war over a horse, cowboy.” Crutchie threw on a fake southern accent to give ‘cowboy’ as much punch as he could.

“An abusive horse! A horse that was takin advantage!” It sounded dumb even as he said it.

“When did you become the biggest dad?” He slid his arm around Jack’s. Maybe the only real advantage of the limp was the fact that he could hold onto him like this in public and not a soul would think anything of it. Everyone just assumed that Jack was helping him.

“Says the one wringin' his hands all night worryin'.” Jack laughed. “You looked like some poor old grandmother pacin' back and forth. I had to beg ya to sit down!”

“Oh shut up.” Crutchie bumped into him playfully. 

Back at the stables Racetrack was trying to laugh the whole thing off. 

“And then he talked about how I was limpin' from tryin' to ride Bad too quickly!” His laugh was a little forced when he realized how Spot was getting steadily angrier. 

“That bastard.” He paced back and forth, his heavy boots echoing in the relative quiet. 

“Well I uh, I mean.” Racetrack focused on brushing the horse’s mane. “He probably didn’t actually think you were that way or nothin'. Just thought you were-“

“I don’t give a goddamn about who Kelly thinks I’m into. I wanna break his fucking kneecaps because he thinks I’d-“ Spot stopped himself short and stared at Race. If it weren’t for the fact that Racetrack could swear that there was a blush starting to form on his cheeks the intensity of it would be terrifying. 

“He thinks you’d...” Racetrack carefully set the brush aside and started to climb back over the railing. He sat a good few feet above Spot but still managed to feel small. Spot could probably do that to just about anyone.

Spot seemed to stare a hole in him before grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him down. Racetrack had to put his hands on Spot’s chest to keep from falling forward entirely. “He thinks that I’d ever hurt you. If I was gonna hurt you does he really think you’d be selling on my turf every day? Able to come and go when you please? It’s because everyone in Brooklyn knows if they hurt a hair on your stupid head I’ll break their neck.”

Racetrack, for once, couldn’t come up with anything to say. Their noses were very nearly touching and throughout the rant Racetrack could feel damn near everything. His breath then he spoke, the vibrations in his chest, the beating of his heart. Just everything. So he just kissed him. He kissed Spot Conlon.

Well, more like he shoved his lips against Spot’s but it still counted. 

Just as panic was threatening to set in Racetrack was shoved from behind and the two were sent toppling to the ground. Racetrack managed to slam both of his knees into the ground and scrape his palm while Spot was silent beneath him. Damn, no way the guys were going to buy how those bruises got there.

He opened his eyes to see Spot more wide-eyed than he’d ever thought possible. “Fuck, you alright? You didn’t hit your head did ya?” Race put his hand on the side of Spot’s head to check for blood only to have it grabbed. “Spot?”

“I change my mind about that fucking horse.” He sounded breathless. “It’s great.”

“Oh yeah?” Racetrack grinned. “You really musta hit your head.”

“Shut up and kiss me again, ya weirdo.” Spot wrapped his arms around Racetrack as he leaned in. 

“In my defense, you’re the one charmed outta your mind after bein jumped on by a weirdo.” Racetrack leaned down to kiss him. There was no rush this time. No fear. He poured everything he knew into it. 

Spot ran his fingers through Racetrack’s hair and pulled away with a laugh. “You got me there.” 

The horse stared at the two boys kissing on the floor with vague disgust at the fact that he was no longer the one getting affection. 

The guys didn’t believe the truth about Racetrack’s bruised up knees and scraped up palms. The whistling was damn near deafening. Jack spent half the day claiming he was going to soak Spot before Crutchie caused abject anarchy by snapping and yelling the now infamous words: 

“Jack Kelly you abject hypocrite shut up, for the love of god!”

**Author's Note:**

> Racetrack is the girl in every horse girl movie. "BuT DADDy I LoVe HiM."
> 
> Meanwhile Spot's on the ground like 'Oh. So thats what I'm into."


End file.
